Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof’s far-right government faced a crisis Friday when a junior minister reportedly threatened to resign, alleging “racist” comments by cabinet colleagues after last week’s attacks on Israeli football fans.
Deputy Finance Minister Nora Achahbar, who is of Moroccan descent, was expected to hand in her resignation later Friday, which may prompt other cabinet ministers of her anti-corruption NSC party to follow suit, Dutch media said.
Far-right leader Geert Wilders has blamed last week’s violence against Maccabi Tel Aviv fans on “Muslims” and “Moroccans”.
Wilders’s Freedom Party won Dutch elections a year ago, but will lose its coalition majority if the NSC, with its 20 seats in the 150-seat lower house, pulls out of the government.
“The minister is expected to hand in her resignation later today (Friday) after unhappiness with incidents within the cabinet after the violence in Amsterdam involving the game between Ajax and Tel Aviv Maccabi,” public broadcaster NOS said.
“Last Monday, during the cabinet meeting, things reportedly got heated, and in Achahbar’s opinion racist statements were made,” it said.
“Achahbar reportedly indicated then that she, as a minister, had objections to certain language used by her colleagues,” NOS added.
Achahbar, 42, is of Moroccan descent and for a long time worked as a public prosecutor.
More NSC cabinet members had not ruled out quitting also, NOS said, citing unnamed sources.
The Netherlands is dealing with political fallout from last week, when Israeli football fans were attacked in Amsterdam’s streets by men on scooters.
Maccabi fans were chased and beaten after a Europa League match against Ajax in Amsterdam on November 7 in attacks which Schoof said was prompted by “unadulterated anti-Semitism”.
Dutch authorities however also reported that Maccabi fans set fire to a Palestinian flag before the match, chanted anti-Arab slurs and vandalised a taxi.
Anti-Islam figure Wilders said during a debate on Wednesday that the perpetrators of the violence against Maccabi Tel Aviv fans were “all Muslims” and “for the most part Moroccans”.
He called for the attackers to be prosecuted “for terrorism”.
The violence struck amid heightened tensions and polarisation in Europe following a rise in anti-Semitic, anti-Israeli and Islamophobic attacks since the start of the war in Gaza.
Dutch media said coalition leaders had been summoned to the prime minister’s residence at 1700 GMT to discuss the crisis.